12/05/2022
This past weekend I was at Joann's getting some materials for a client and I was chatting with the lovely lady at the cutting table and showing her some of my recent projects/creations and we were having a good time.
I finished getting what I needed and headed over to the checkout and I got tapped on my shoulder. A lady had overheard my conversation with the employee and was in a pickle. She has 2 granddaughters and one of them had a pillow like the one below with a pocket, handle and her name on it. She told me the younger granddaughter was jealous and wanted one of her own, but the grandmother said she had no clue how to make one. She informed me that the original had been purchased at a maker-like holiday sale a few years ago and she couldn't track down the person that made them, but this pillow would have started World War 3 if the youngest did not get one for Christmas. She was desperate to make her grandchildren happy and asked if I had some time to make this for her, inspired by the original.
Typically when I am approached by a stranger, I am wary, as most of us in the community are these days. I was dressed in all black, with some jewelry on, so it was obvious I was q***r. She started to tell me the story and I had told her I made drag outfits/custom work/etc. and she still wanted me to make it for her. I was quite surprised and taken back--in a good way. Why am I bringing this up?
After hearing about the threats of violence in Ohio and the power outage in NC, it is CRUTIAL that we in the LGBTQIA+ community remain seen, visible, and loud. What we need more of is support and that same energy from our "allies". Kit--the woman who cornered me about said pillow--didn't care. She was so happy, a stranger--a drag queen, was able to come to her aide. That energy, needs to be amplified. We need people out there willing to go to bat for us. To stand by us.
Those painting the community as "groomers" want to inconvenience everyone--not just the LGBTQIA+ community--so that when they do their terrorist attacks, those "allies" will turn on the LGBTQIA+ community. Not because they believe their rhetoric, but because they just don't want to be inconvenienced. It would be much easier to tell us to stop and stay quiet because they're inconvenienced, rather than call out their terrorism, because at the end of the day, it's not an issue until it happens to them. Hold those who call themselves "allies" accountable.
Supporting the community can come in all shapes and sizes. Standing with us may make you feel uncomfortable, but stop and consider those these attacks are targeted at. WE ARE DYING. You are uncomfortable. If you're uncomfortable, I'll make you a pillow. We have work to do.
